Living green in Bali

[Sumatra]

Hi Folks,

I have a few questions about living in Bali, We've been living green in the US.
is it going to be dificult to get organic supplies in Bali?? also, how about the personal care items such as; organic shampoo, soap, cleaning products etc.. we haven't had any chemicals in our house for a few years now and would like to continue our livestyle when we move to Bali.
Secondly, is it easy to purchase a dog in bali??? (different breed other than Kintamani??}
I promised my son when we get to bali we'll get him one.
Last one but not least, How far from Bali to Surabaya?? since we have to go there every month to the US embassy??

Thank you so much for your answers in advance.

Liz

 

[mimpimanis]

Hi Liz

You can get a rescue dog very easilly in Bali and they make great pets. If you want to buy a breed be careful. I have several freinds who have had bad experiences and I myself have been in one pet shop twice where on both occasions there was someone (two different people) in there complaining about how their puppy died days after purchase.

A pet shop I highly recommend in Scooby Doo in Jimbaran.

When I purchased my shih tzu there - the owner called me by the time I got home (she wasnt there when I bought him) to remind me about vaccinations (he was already vaccinated but due boosters 5 months later) and asked me to let them know if there was any problem. We go back there every week and I have always been impressed with the condition of the dogs and the staff's attitude and our pooch is doing fine months on.

Bali to Surabaya how far? No Idea, hopefully someone else can help with that. Isnt there an american embassy or consulate in bali you can go to?

 

[Sumatra]

Mimpimanis thank you for your info. I was kind of worried about purchasing a dog from the pet stores as well (since we will not know about the dog history, where they are from and health issues and so on). I think you have a good point there to adopt a dog from the shelter. After all we should support a local dog shelter, don’t you think?? (When we went to Bali last year, we did stop at one of dog shelters but I can’t remember the name and they have very interesting breeds there). I feel bad about the conditions of the dogs. Wish could do something.

I’m under the impression, Bali doesn’t have an embassy, just an agent. Is this true???
I think, I forgot to mention on my first post about the organic food. I read before on different posts that Ubud has organic farming, does that mean that I have to drive to Ubud to shop every week??? Unless we find a home there.
Is there any other place???

Liz

 

[mimpimanis]

I am afraid I dont know about organic food.

Carrefour has a veggie section that is meant to be organic but to be honest the food all looks withered and old. I only once bought some peaches from there at a price I misread.... or I wouldnt have bothered!

 

[bookdemon]

You can get organic personal care items in Ubud at a place called Bali Buddha, near the Post Office. Not sure if this is a chain that may be located in other towns (I doubt it, it's probably only in Ubud because of the organic tourist potential) but perhaps there are other equivalents. Also don't know about the organic food situation. I'm sure others will chime in on this.... Roy, please pick up the white paging phone!

Richard

 

[Sumatra]

Thanks Bookdemon, I guess I can just make my own cleaning agents like in the States as long as I can find the ingredients in Bali.

Liz

 

[Roy]

Friends of ours, Ben and Blair Ripple, (also from the states), started organic farming here on Bali about the same I arrived. In the years since, their business has boomed and their products can be found all over Bali in the various grocery stores and gourmet shops as well. They are also huge exporters now of cocoa from Bali, putting Bali just behind Sumatra in cocoa exports.

A nice article about them in Food & Wine magazine can be found on line here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/saving-bali-organic-farming

As for organic personal care items, I don’t know, but there used to be Body Shop at Matahari. I don’t know if it’s still there or not. Are Body Shop products considered organic? I haven’t a clue.

 

[FreoGirl]

Hi Sumatra
I recommend you take a supply of micro-fibre cleaning cloths as I didn't find any in Bali (but I didn't know about that store in Ubud, so maybe they have some - although I expect they would be expensive). They are a wonderful alternative to cleaning chemicals. I didn't find green cleaning products in the general supermarkets - in fact cleaning products are like this - you have a whole isle of floor cleaners, and just one shelf for everything else. Well, you sit on the floor alot in Bali, so Balinese are pretty particular about a clean floor. Quite often I would find someone's home to have a spotless floor, but don't look too closely anywhere else...

I also use bi-carb of soda for some cleaning, and didn't find that readily available in supermarkets, but found I could buy by the KG in a swimming pool supply shop (as water softener). I reverted to standard wash powder for my clothes as I just couldn't get anything else. Maybe get some of those magic wash balls??

I lived in Lombok, and there are no certified organic farmers there, so you don't know what you are getting. I was just happy to have lovely fresh food that tasted great, and cost next to nothing. I still pine for ayam kampung - they may be small, but boy are they tasty!

 

[Roy]

I don’t know about that. Considering just how incredibly dirty things get here in Bali, and how quickly that can happen, I’m more for heavy duty bio-hazard toxic chemicals that can get the job done. :lol: :lol:

 

[Sumatra]

Thanks Roy & Freogirl,

Hey Freogirl you and me could be a good friends, it's seems like we have things in common.
I've been using just the old water with white vinegar to clean glass and windows and also baking soda for my floor and tub cleaning, it's much safer for you and your family. (That's why in the US, there are such high rates of cancer because of the over use of petroleum products and pesticides).
You are right bi-carb soda/Club soda is good for a glass cleaning agent also.

I would prefer ayam kampung any time over Ayam eropah as my mom used to say. Ayam kampung is 100% free-range no solutions or antibiotics. Where I go to shop the free-range chickens cost between $17 -$20 versus reg. chicken $4-$5. a healthy living is very costly for you.

I can't remember the last time we ate at any fast food restaurant. Even in Massachusetts there aren't many organic restaurants. We always go to the same restaurant, but it can get really borring.
I'm hoping when we move to Bali, we could have better quality food than here in the States.
We're just tired of the hustle and bustle here and just want to live a less stressful life.

Liz

 

[FreoGirl]

Hi Sumatra,
Yes, a kindred spirit when it comes to keeping things simple I think..

You may not be able to verify that food is organic, but one of the wonderful things about the food grown in Bali (and Lombok, and parts of Java, where some of the food comes from) is the soil it is grown in is sooo rich. The selenium content of the food in Bali is wonderfully high compared to our food. One of the reasons Australians have such a high rate of cancer is that our soil (which is about the oldest in the world) is almost devoid of selenium. The soil is also full of other minerals that are really good for you.

It has quite often been reported by people who only spend a few weeks in Bali that they are feeling so much healthier. Apart from a less busy life, it definately has something to do with the quality of the food, and the soil in which it was grown. So don't worry too much about whether it is strictly organic. You can always start your own vege patch once you get established.

One thing I found hard to get in Lombok was brown rice. Maybe Bali has better options as there are so many more expats living there to create demand. Hey, I've got my Indonesian husband eating brown rice, and in some dishes it is his preference!

Roy, I have to agree things seem to get dirty very quickly in Bali but I think it has something to do with the houses being so open to the outside. I did get a lot more relaxed about having a bit of dirt and cobwebs around when I lived in Indonesia. But my floor was always clean :lol:

 

[Roy]

“I’m under the impression, Bali doesn’t have an embassy, just an agent. Is this true???”

Sorry Sumatra, I missed that question from before. You are right, in Bali we have a US Consular Agent, who happens to be a great guy named Joshua Fitch.

If you move to Bali, you should definitely register there. You can vote absentee through this office, as well as receive and file your IRS forms.

Periodically there are “town hall” meetings held in various places in Bali, (usually down south) and the US Ambassador to Indonesia will often attend to take questions and meet American expats living on Bali. Be sure to write to Mala and ask to be put on the mailing list.

Joshua Fitch, US Consular Agent
Mala Ayoen, Administration
U.S. Consular Agency Bali
Tel. 0361-233605
Fax 0361-222426
Email : amcobali@indosat.net.id

The US Embassy is located at Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan No. 4-5, Jakarta; the 24-hour telephone number is 62-21-3435-9000. The telephone number of the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya is 62-31-295-6400; the number for the U.S. Consulate in Medan is 62-61-415-2200;

 

[Roy]

Freo, I think by “brown rice” you mean red rice, or beras merah? It is harder to find, even here in Ubud. Tabanan is famous for its beras merah and most Balinese who can afford to have it daily will mix it (before cooking) with normal (white) rice or simple beras at an approximate ratio of 3 to 1, beras to beras merah.

Beras merah is extremely healthy and can even be eaten by most diabetics as opposed to regular rice, which should be avoided.

All the organic foods produced by Ben and Blair are certified organic, as they export a lot of what they farm.

 

[ronb]

I also use bi-carb of soda for some cleaning, and didn't find that readily available in supermarkets,

Baking soda is readily available in Hardy's. We only use it for cooking so get small quantities - don't know if there were larger lots.

 

[ronb]

Freo, I think by “brown rice” you mean red rice, or beras merah?

I think what she means is unmilled or partly milled rice that still has some of the brown husk around the white grain. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rice

 

[FreoGirl]

Yes Ron you're right, commonly known as brown rice - it is rice that is partly milled leaving the bran (which is full of nutrients) on the outside . It is generally favoured by those who make the effort to eat organic food, which is why I mentioned it.

Red rice I think is different, although it is also low GI and so better for type II diabetics, or anyone who is insulin intolerant. There are other white rices that are low GI such as Basmati, which is also better for type II diabetics.

Good to hear baking soda is easy to get now.

 

[Roy]

Well, to further complicate matters, there is a rice here called beras gaga, which is much fatter and the color (husk intact) is more brown (after cooking), so maybe that is what you mean Freo? It is harvested only once every six months according to my “boss.”

Most distinctive about beras gaga is the fact that it is not planted and gown in rice fields, or sawah, but rather on dry land. Also, the Balinese do not call it brown rice. This is very hard to get as it is only grown in mountainous areas, the Batur area being most popular. Maybe in Lombok this is a more common rice?

Red rice, or beras merah is very different from normal rice or “brown” rice after cooking. There is no mistaking red rice for beras gaga, as the color is distinctively red after cooking, even if mixed 1 to 3 with white (normal) rice. The result is that all of the cooked rice is very noticeably light red in color.

Red rice is expensive, about 22,000 a kilo, or about three times the price of white rice, or just plain beras. Beras gaga is more than twice the price of beras merah, or more like 50,000 a kilo, and aside from going up to the villages that plant and harvest it, almost impossible to find anywhere else, here in Bali.

For the average Balinese, beras gaga is reserved for special occasions, like Galungan or impressing guests at a wedding. If there is a caviar of beras Bali, it is beras gaga.

As for me, I’ll take a baked Idaho potato with melted butter, sour cream and chives any day over all of the rice, but we do eat a lot of rice too. For some Balinese dishes, rice is the only way to go...no doubt about that.

 

[FreoGirl]

Brown rice is just plain old beras that hasn't been processed, nothing special about it. Most Indonesians won't eat it. There was a woman in Lombok who got a supply of it for her hotel, which was as far as I know, plain rice which was polished but still had the husk intact. I also remember a village where some of the children were very malnourished, and this woman got the parents to feed the kids brown rice, and their health improved ten-fold.

In the west, brown rice is very common. You will find different varieties of brown & white rice side by side on the supermarket shelf. It is the same rice, just one is more processed than the other.

 

[Roy]

Brown rice is just plain old beras that hasn't been processed, nothing special about it.

Well what do you call it here? No Balinese I know call any rice brown rice. Can you buy it here in Bali, or only in Lombok? What do you pay per kilo for it?

If "most Indonesians won't eat it" then which Indonesians sell it?

 

[FreoGirl]

Brown rice is just plain old beras that hasn't been processed, nothing special about it.

Well what do you call it here? No Balinese I know call any rice brown rice. Can you buy it here in Bali, or only in Lombok? What do you pay per kilo for it?

If "most Indonesians won't eat it" then which Indonesians sell it?

As I said Roy, it's hard to get. It's not called anything. You pretty much have to go to herler man and get him to do some for you (i.e. take off the yellow outer skin and leave the second bran skin). I only mentioned it (and boy am I sorry I did :roll: ) because Sumatra is interested in organic foods and most people interested in eating organics also want to eat wholegrains - which is brown rice.